Lower cost
↓ OPEXMoving away from MPLS to Cisco Meraki SD-WAN reduced monthly connectivity cost and lowered day-to-day WAN operating overhead.
Use case
Woodcote Group a.s.: after three years, the value of Cisco Meraki SD-WAN remained clear
This use case is not about a three-year transformation project. It is about the outcome three years after deployment, when the brownfield migration to Cisco Meraki SD-WAN had clearly proven its long-term operational and business value across 34 branches.
Published on LinkedInHighlights
The fastest way to understand the project impact
Higher resilience
2× uplinkSelected branches now use dual connectivity, increasing resilience during outages and keeping ERP and cloud services available.
Simpler operations
DashboardThe Meraki Dashboard unified provisioning, monitoring and policy changes without requiring physical presence at each branch.
Higher reliability
↑ SLAThe SD-WAN design improved service continuity and reduced the operational impact of branch network incidents on business processes.
Context and problem
Woodcote Group operated in an environment where MPLS connectivity was costly, legacy security appliances had become limiting and WAN operations were more complex than they needed to be. The result was higher cost, harder support and weaker flexibility for branch change or expansion.
- costly MPLS connectivity and historically layered architecture
- unsupported or difficult-to-manage IPsec devices
- the need to speed up network response at the point of sale
Proposed solution
The solution was delivered as a brownfield migration to Cisco Meraki SD-WAN rather than a full rebuild. The important point of this case is that even after three years, the chosen direction still proved to be right from an operational, cost and long-term sustainability perspective.
- central management through the Meraki Dashboard
- zero-touch provisioning for simpler rollout
- dual connectivity per branch through two providers or ISP plus LTE
- application-aware routing and integrated security capabilities
Operational impact
After the transformation, day-to-day WAN operations became much easier to manage. The IT team gained a central place for provisioning, monitoring and change rollout, which reduced the need for onsite work and manual configuration effort.
- a more consistent branch blueprint and fewer ad hoc configurations
- higher resilience during connectivity issues thanks to the dual uplink model
- simpler updates and lower operational overhead
Business result
The most visible effect was lower OPEX. Moving away from MPLS and centralising network management created room for more efficient operations and better allocation of the IT budget. At the same time, the network became more ready for additional cloud services, hybrid work and future security frameworks.
- lower monthly telecom costs
- faster ROI through reduced operational burden
- better readiness for hybrid working and further digital evolution
Next step
If you are solving a similar network modernisation problem, we can walk through what is transferable to your environment
This web use case was created from the original LinkedIn article and restructured into a web-friendly and SEO-friendly format.